


Rainfall

by Slowpoke_Curry



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Canon: Magia Record, Developing Relationship, F/F, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Sharing an umbrella, Strangers to Lovers, getting a friend and becoming girlfriends: SPEEDRUN
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:47:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22654957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slowpoke_Curry/pseuds/Slowpoke_Curry
Summary: Ren finds herself caught in the rain without an umbrella. Little does she know, this will lead to a world of change.
Relationships: Ayano Rika/Isuzu Ren
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	Rainfall

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MitsubachiAria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MitsubachiAria/gifts).



> Aaa! Happy birthday, friendo!! My bestest of friends, I hope you have the greatest birthday and enjoy this story of lesbians speed running some romance.
> 
> Is it fast? Yes. Am I sorry for lack of proper pacing? Also yes. But this is a fanfic and I am trying my best with what I know from the Magia Record wiki. Please enjoy!

Ren knew that it wasn't going to be a good day the minute she heard the crash of thunder.

She looked up from her textbook and out the window of her classroom. When she had left her house, the clouds had been a lovely fluffy white. Now they were an angry almost-black. It seemed that they had forgone small droplets, immediately pouring buckets of cold water down onto the earth below, making Ren feel the chill despite being safely inside. Some of her classmates chattered about bringing their umbrellas on the off chance of rain- of how lucky they'd gotten.

A quick check of her backpack told her what she already knew: She didn't have an umbrella.

Why hadn't she checked the weather report? It was usually a part of her daily schedule, but last night had been dedicated to studying for a test in her English class. Staying up late meant that she'd been too exhausted to do much more than eat a small breakfast in total silence. And now she really regretted that choice. A painful lump formed in her throat, just thinking about walking to the train station in the rain.

Certainly, none of her classmates would offer to share their umbrella, and she knew she wouldn't be able to even choke out a "please." Maybe the rain would lighten up before school ended? There were still quite a few hours left before she had to go home...

But the rain did not lighten up. In fact, it seemed to fall even harder.

She hid underneath her school's front awning, watching as everyone passed her by and opened their umbrellas. A few looked back at her- one or two smirking at her or whispering to their friends. Ren's cheeks burned with embarrassment, and the lump in her throat grew larger. Maybe she could use her backpack? It was supposed to be water resistant...

With a sigh, she shrugged it off and hoisted it over her head. Rain still got through- dripping down the sleeves of her uniform jacket and splashing up into her shoes. Her face and hair were mostly dry thankfully. A few years ago, she would have been crying. Now she just felt a dull ache in her heart.

"Hey! Hey!" An unfamiliar voice called out, and Ren heard splashing footsteps. She turned to see a pink-haired girl running towards her. Was she a schoolmate? She certainly wasn't in Ren's class, because everyone there had your typical black or brown hair colors. Ren didn't know what to do. Before she could even think of a single question to ask, the girl was right beside her and holding her umbrella over her. It was decorated with bunnies, and almost too small for two people to fit underneath, so the stranger was standing very close to her.

Ren was dumbfounded.

A blinding smile was sent her way, inviting although it was the tiniest bit uneasy, "You seemed like you needed one! Gosh, you're soaked. You're gonna get sick if you stay out in this weather in these wet clothes..." She hummed, tapping her chin with her pointer finger, "How about you come home with me? I'll give you a replacement!"

"Wh... What?" She rasped, blinking at this girl- this _stranger,_ who had just offered something not even past friends had ever offered her.

"Oh! I guess it's weird for a stranger to offer to take you home out of the blue..." She mumbled to herself, "I'm Ayano Rika. And I promise I'm not, like, a murderer or anything."

Ren seriously doubted that the girl didn't have any sort of dubious intentions. But also, what did she have to lose? Her home was about an hour away by train. And it would probably avoid the embarrassment of having to stand soaking wet in the middle of a crowded train car.

She sighed, "A... Alright... Lead the way."

* * *

Ayano lived in a cozy, tiny apartment. It certainly didn't seem like a place to do anything unsavory, and no one else was home, so Ren let herself relax a bit. The other girl shook her umbrella out in the doorway, "Here, I'll get you some towels! I'd offer a shower, but that'd probably just be suuuuper creepy, y'know? Hm... I think some of my clothes might fit you..."

Ren was buried under an excessive amount of fluffy white towels and herded into a pink room. Every corner was crowded by stuffed animals and the walls were covered in posters and shelves holding knick-knacks.

"Feel free to dig through the left side of my closet, pick whatever you want! It was about time I got a nice change of clothes anyways." Ayano chirped, before skipping out of the room, "Just come out when you're done!"

Picking out an outfit wasn't as easy as it should've been. Ren had never been one for excessively cutesy clothes, she'd outgrown them by the time she entered elementary school, and there was not a single item of clothing that lacked some kind of frills or decorations. The closest thing was a too-big sweatshirt and a pair of soft pants covered in grey polka dots.

They were comfortable, just... not anything close to matching her usual taste in clothes

Walking out of the room hit her with the calming scent of cinnamon. Her books and homework were all laid out, only slightly damp, and the wet clothes in her hands were quickly snatched up by Ayano. Before she could blink, they were replaced by a steaming cup of hot chocolate. Complete with whipped cream and marshmallows.

"I'll toss these in the dryer! I put your backpack in there too, I hope you don't mind." She said, "All your stuff was actually pretty dry!"

Ren should've been the slightest bit frustrated. She'd met Ayano about... 20 minutes ago? And the other girl had gone through her stuff, presumably, without permission. Even if it was with good intentions. But... She was mostly just confused. How was this girl so blindly nice? Ren could've been as much of a danger to Ayano as she could've been to Ren herself.

No self preservation skills? Altruism? Maybe Ren was still asleep, and was dreaming of someone who was probably her mind's view of the best person in the world?

She pinched herself hard on the arm and winced. Nope, certainly not a dream.

"So, what's your name?" Was the first thing Ayano said as she came in. Ren balked- she had really just... not introduced herself, had she? Gosh. That was something that would keep her up tonight.

"Isuzu... Ren. That's me."

Ayano's eyes lit up, "Ooh, that's so pretty! Though, I guess that makes it all the more fitting!"

Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Ren felt her brain blow a gasket and blankly stared ahead as she scrambled to reboot. Had Ayano just called her pretty? No one called her pretty! That was something only her parents had done.

It seemed that Ayano herself had been caught off guard by what she said, too, because she clapped her hands over her mouth and blushed. Then she began to wave her hands in front of her instead, "U-Uh, I mean, um, you're just-- It's, that didn't come out right! Not to say you aren't pretty bu--"

"...cute." Ren mumbled, cutting off Ayano's embarrassed stream of rambling.

"H-Huuuh?"

Ren clasped her hands together in front of her, biting her lip, "You're, uh, really... Kinda cute, y'know? Uh... It's, um, you're really colorful."

A strangled noise came out of Ayano, and her face was just as pink as her room's walls. The laundry machine beeped like an electronic savior- Ayano launched out of her chair and practically _ran_ to go grab everything inside it.

Ren tugged on her hair with an embarrassed almost-wailing noise. Was that too forward? It hadn't even been a mistake, and maybe Ayano hadn't meant it in the way she'd interpreted it? Oh, this was just another in a long line of mistakes from her-

A warm backpack filled with folded clothes was placed on her lap, and a new-looking phone in a white bunny phone case was dropped on top of it, open to the contact page. Ren looked up to meet eyes with Ayano.

"So, um, can I have your number?" She squeaked, "Just, so, I can see you again! Of course."

Ren didn't need to be told twice- she entered her number and handed the phone back quietly. Ayano (Rika?) clutched it like it was a treasure. Unfortunately, Ren had also caught the time while adding her contact.

"I-I should get going now, my train is going to leave soon..." She mumbled, "Make sure to text me. I try to answer really quickly." Sure, that was mostly with her parents, but she felt like Rika was a surefire exception.

Rika nodded so fast it looked painful, "Sure thing! Also," She pulled out a blue umbrella, covered in bunnies, just like the one they'd walked underneath together, "I found this in while I was drying your stuff. Um, you can keep it."

Ren had a really tough time leaving that warm apartment, opening her new umbrella with a unfamiliar (but not unwelcome) warmth settled into her bones. Not even the cold of the wind and the rain could ruin it, wearing soft pink clothes and having obtained something comparable to a raging spark of hope.

* * *

Later, after Ren had gotten home, her phone buzzed with a text message. A single, sparkly heart, followed by an address for a tea shop at the halfway point between her and Rika's houses.

> **Unknown** : tea tomorrow? @6? they make the BEST blueberry pie!!!

Ren smiled, typing out her answer and setting Rika's contact.

> **Rika ☂️💕** : tea tomorrow? @6? they make the BEST blueberry pie!!!
> 
> **Me** : I wouldn't miss it for anything.

She turned off her phone with a content sigh, spotting the umbrella leaning against her desk chair in the darkness of her room. For the first time in her recent memory, she closed her eyes with a true smile. It would only be the sweetest of dreams tonight.

Perhaps it had been a good day after all.


End file.
